-Forward-facing child safety seats or in
fant carriers installed on the front pas
senger's seat may interfere with the de ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the child.
- It is safer to install a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
c:::;, page 166 . Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c:::;, page 143, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A WARNING
-
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
c> page 153, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System .
-Take the child restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis-
Child Safety 177
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up, against or
very near the in
strument panel.
- Always
move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint . The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
A WARNING ...==-
Rearward-facing child restraints:
-A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger
seat will be seriously injured and can be
killed if the front airbag inflates -
even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof .
- Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception
al circumstances .
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas
senger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-mat in the seat and regis
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced Air
bag System. The heavier weight regis
tered can make the system work as •
•
178 Child Safety
though an adult were on the seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately install the rearward-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur
er's instructions when installing a child re
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver
tible locking retractor:
"" Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera
bly on the rear seat.
"" Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
"" Route it around or through the child re
straint belt path¢&_ .
"" Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
"" Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position.
"" Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
"" You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retractor. The con
vertible locking retractor is now activated.
"" Make sure that the red release button is fac
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly .
"" Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING ....__ -
Using the wrong child restraint or an im
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re- tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer
gency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used ¢
page 166. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 143, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into
the retractor.
"" Press the red button on the safety belt
buckle. The belt tongue will pop out of the
buckle.
"" Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely
into its stowed position. The safety belt can
1J1-
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with
out the convertible locking retractor for chi ld
restra ints.
I f the convertible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in
to its stowed position to deactivate this fea
ture.
If the convertib le locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear .
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti
vate the convert ible lock ing ret ractor for
c hild restraints while the veh icle is mov
ing. You would not be restrained and
cou ld be ser iously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave
hicle is being used
¢page 166. Special
precautions apply when installing a chi ld
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 143, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Child Sa fet y 179
•
•
180 Child Safet y
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tether
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicable way
to attach the child restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federal regulations require specia l lower
anchorages in veh icles and dev ices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LA TC H system for "L ower Anchorages and
Tethers for C hildren ."
F orward-facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
I nstalling a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the
performance of the child restraint and its abi l
ity to protect the child in a collision . Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violation of
state law .
Ch ild restra int manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats with
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adj ustab le straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to help keep the child
restra int firmly in place.
_&. WARNING
Imprope r insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of inju ry and death in
a crash.
- Always fo llow the instructions p rov ided
by the manufacturer of the c hild re- straint yo
u intend to install in your vehi
cle.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions require the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restraint LATC H
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision . T he LATC H lower anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
chi ld res traints.
- Never mount two child restra int systems
on one LATC H lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag
es.
(D Tips
In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower universa l anchorages" (or "lower
u niversa l anchorage ba rs") are used to de
scribe the system.
- In other countries, the term " ISOFIX" is
used to describe the lower a ncho rages.
Location
Fi g. 155 Sc hem atic overview: LA TCH ancho rage point
l ocations
T he illust rat ion shows the seat ing loca tions in
you r vehicle which are equipped with the low
er anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating.
Fig . 156 Lower anchorages, covers marke d
Fi g. 157 Rea r seats: lower anc horage bracket locat io ns
Lowe r ancho rages
The lower anchorage attachment points are
l ocated on the rear end of the rear seatback.
Remove the covers
c::> fig . 156 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points .
The lower anchorage attachment points are
visib le
c::> fig. 157 .
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat witho ut using the vehicle 's safety
be lts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy
to-use attachment and minimize the possibili
ty of improper child restraint installation .
All chi ld restraints manufactured after Sep
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Remember that the lower anchorage points
are only intended for installation and attach
ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use w ith
LATCH l ower anchorages. Child
restra ints that are not equipped with the low
er anchorage attachments can still be instal-
Child S afety 181
led in compliance with the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions on using vehicle
safety belts .
_& WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious personal injury in an ac
cident.
- Always carefully follow the child re
straints manufacturer's instructions for
proper installation of the child restraint
and p roper use of the lower anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the
LATCH lowe r ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARN INGS
c::> page 166,
Child Safety.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
F ig. 158 Lowe r anc horages: proper mount ing
Mounting
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright pos it ion and securely
latched in place .
"' Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connec to rs lock into place
c::> fig. 158 . ..,.
182 Child Safet y
• Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage.
• Pull straps tight following the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions.
Re leasin g
• Loosen the tension on the straps following
the chi ld restraint manufacturer 's instruc
tions .
• Depress the spring catche s to release the
anchorage hooks from the lower anchorag
es .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restrain t firmly in place.
A WARNING ,.
Improper use of the LATCH system can in
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in an acc ident .
- These anchors were developed only for
child safety seats us ing the "LATCH" sys
tem .
- Never attach other child safety seats,
belts or ot her objects to these anchors .
-Always make sure that you hear a click when latching the seat in place . If you do
not hear a click the seat is not secure and
cou ld fly forward and h it the interior of
the vehicle, or be ejected from the vehi
cle .
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
wi ll increase the risk of injury in an acci
dent.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's instructions for proper
installation of the child restraint system
and proper use of tether straps as we ll as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your vehicle .
- Always read and heed the important in
format ion and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re
straint systems ¢
page 166, Child Safe
ty.
-
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 159 Tet her an ch ors : recess flaps beh ind t he rear
s ea tba cks
T he tether anchors for the rear seating posi
tions are located in recesses in the rear win
dow shelf ¢
fig. 159.
A tether is a stra ight or V-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a ch ild restra int to
special ancho rage po ints in the vehicle.
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for
ward movement of the child rest raint in a
crash , in orde r to help reduce the risk of head
injury that cou ld be caused by strik ing the ve
hicle interior.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are requi red by U.S.
federa l regu lations to comply with ch ild head
movement performance requirements. These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats .
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restra ints
will increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re
straint you intend to install in your Audi .
- Improper use of child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in
jury in a collis ion. The anchors are de
signed to withstand only those loads im
posed by correctly fitted child rest raints.
- Never mount two child restra int systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems to one tether strap or tether anchorage .
-
-Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints .
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at
tach a child restraint to the front passen
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
tight, that it causes the weight-sensing
mat to measure mo re weight than is ac
tually on the seat .
- The heav ier weight reg istered can make
the Advanced Airbag System work as
though an adult were on the seat and de ploy the Adva nced Airbag when it must
be s uppressed causing serious or even
f a tal inj ury to the child .
-If you mus t install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position a nd
have t he a irbag system inspected by you r
Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 160 Tether strap: proper routing and mounting
Inst alling the tether strap
.. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restra int according to the child re
stra int manufacturer's instructions.
Child S afety 183
.. Guide the upper tether strap und er the rear
head restraint
¢ fig. 160 (raise the head re
straint if necessary).
.. Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket.
.. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of t he tether anchorage .
.. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spr ing catch of the hook engages .
.. Tighten the te ther s trap firmly fo llow ing
t he child restra int manufac turer's inst ruc
tions .
Releasing the tether strap
.. Loosen the tension follow ing the child re
s traint manufacture r's instr uctions.
.. Depress the spring c atch on the hook and
re lease it from the ancho rage.
(D Note
If you leave the c hild restra int w ith the
tethe r strap fi rmly ins talle d for several
days, this could leave a mark on the up
ho lstery on the seat cushion and backrest
i n the area where the tether strap was in
stalled. The upholstery would also be per
manently stretched around the tether
strap . This applies espec ia lly to leather
seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Curre ntly, few rearward-facing child restraint
systems come w ith a tether . P lease read and
heed the chi ld restraint system manufactur
er's instr uctions carefully to determine how to
properly install the tether.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced A irbag Sy stem .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety sea t or i nfan t carrie r wi th great
for ce a nd will smas h the child safety se at .,.
184 Child Saf ety
and child against the backrest, ce nter
arm rest, or door .
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear
ward -fac ing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the
seat and register a heavier weight in the
Adva nced Airbag System. The heav ier
we ight registe red can make th e system
wor k as th ough an adu lt were on the seat
and dep loy the Advan ced Airbag when i t
must be suppressed ca using se rious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If you mus t install a rearwar d fa cing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iate ly install the rearward-facing
child safety seat in a rear seat ing pos i
t io n and have the airbag system inspect
ed by you r authorized Audi dea le r.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional
information about ch ild restrai nt select ion, in
stallat io n and use:
NHTSA advises that the best child safety seat
is the one that fits your child and fits in your
ve hicle, and that you w ill use cor rectly and
consistently.
Try before you buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Admin
istration
Te l.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY : 1-800-424-9153)
www .nhtsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Te l.: (202) 662-0600
www .safekids.org
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
T el.: (800) 74S-SAFE (English)
Tel.: (800) 747 -SANO (Span is h)
www.carseat .org
Transport Canada Information Centre
T el.: 1-800-333-0371 or ca ll
1-6 13-998-86 16 if yo u are in the Ottawa area
http://www .tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/
menu. htm
Audi Cu stomer Relations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834